Rail-splicing structure.



y W. P. & s. G. THOMSON.

RAIL SPLIOING STRUCTURE. APPLICATION FILED MAY 15, 1912.

Patented Apr. 1, 1913.

' I a sums-51mm 1.

W. P. & S. G. THOMSON.

RAIL SPLIOING STRUCTURE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 15, 1912.

1,057,687. Patentd Apr. 1, 1913.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 2 wrmgssss INVI: RQ

W. P. & S. G. THOMSON.

RAIL SPLIGING STRUCTURE.

APPLICATION FILED MAX 15, 1912.

Patented Apr. 1,1913.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 3v fglki mu w Qwvmi W. P. & S. G. THOMSON.

RAIL SPLIOING STRUCTURE.

urmoynon FILED MAY lfi, 1912.

Patented Apr. 1, 1913.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

2 2 6 I W11} W 0%- GQAMWM w. P. HQG. THOMSON.

RAIL SPLIGING STRUCTURE.

APPLICATION FILED MA! 15, 1912.

Patented Apr. 1, 1913.

J U 2 i MM? j full, clear,

tinirnn STATES PATENT lQE...

OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVA- RAIL JOINT COMPANY, OF

RAIL-SPLICING STRUCTURE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed May 15, 1912, Serial No. 697,482.

To all 20720712, it may concern.

Be it known that we, VVILLiAM P. THOM- SON and SAMUEL G. THOMSON,residents. of Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State ofPennsylvania, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Rail-SplicingStructures, of which the following is a and exact description, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of thisspecification, in whic Figure l is a sectional View of one form ofstructure embodying our invention; Fig. a side view of the same with therail supports shown partly in section and partly in side elevation;Figs. 3 and 4 are views similar to Fig. l but showing other forms inFigs. 4 and 5; Fig.

of the invention; Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the structure shown inFig. a; Fig, 6 is a bottom plan new of the rail seats shown 7 is a viewsimilar to Fig. 1 but showing still another form of the invention; Fig.8 is a side elevation of the structure shown in Fig. 7; Fig. 9 is asectional plan view of the structure shown in Fig. 8; Figs. 10, 11 and12 are sectional views showing other forms of the invention; Fig. 13 isa view partly in end elevation and partly in vertical section showingour invention applied to one form of insulated joint; Fig. l4 is a sideview of the structure of Fig. 13 with the rail ties in section; Fig. 15is a bottom plan view; Figs. 16 to 20, both inclusive, are sectionalviews showing our invention applied to other forms of insulated joints;Figs. 21 to 32, inclusive,,are

sectional views showing still other forms of the lower chord of the bar,

tions extending below the bottoms of the rail bases will clear the railsupportto such an extent that a load imposed upon the rails will becarried by that portion only of the rail support which bears on theunder faces of the rail bases. This relationship of splice bars, rails,and rail supporting means, exists regardless of whether the railsupporting means lie transversely or longitudinally of the rails. Intllecommon'practice of resting the rails upon ties which runtransversely of the rails,- our arrangement of the splice barreinforcement extending downwardly below the under faces of the railbases is accomplished so that a portion of the splice bar extendingbelow the bottoms of the rail bases will also lie directly above the topsurface of the tie; thus the tie may be located directly beneath theextending portion of the splice b'ar without and consequently spoil thefit of the splice bar on the fishing angles of the rails.

An important object of our invention is to provide a railway trackstructure in which the rails are supported on the under faces of theirbases in such fashion that a deeper reinforcement than hitherto may beadded to a splice bar at points approximately mid way between themiddle, longitudinally, and

the ends of the splice bar; this deeper reinforcementbeing of particularimportance, when so located because the lower extremities of the endportions of the splice bars may at the same time lie above the lowerface of the rail base in accordance with the extensively prevailingpresent practice.

The ordinary type of angle bar, which does not eii'tend below the bottomface of the rail base, may be reinforced by our improvement by extendingthe bar below the bottom of the rail, either in the form of a straightdepending flange, or in the form of a head, or lateral reinforcing ribsforming tending uniformly for the full. length of the bar. In this form,the rail seat or tie plate, is so formed as to afford a clearance forthe depending portion, and in this way ties, or

Patented Apr. 1,1913.

downwardly impinging against the reinforcement in such a manner as toforce the splice bar upward such chord QX 40 resist breakage.

any other form of rail support, maybe located either at the ends or atthe middle portions of the bars, without interference from thereinforcement below the rail base.

The maximum efliciency of this structure is best attained by the use ofsplice bars of the form in which the width of the foot from the outerface of the web to the outer edge of the foot of the bar is made muchless than the corresponding width as found in angle bars of the ordinarytype. lVith the present well known girder types of splice bars, whichhave a freely depending flange below the bottom of the rail at the midlength of the bar, our improvement provides a clearance which permitsthe re inforcing girder to extend longitudinally over all, or a portionof, the rail-bearing surfaces of the tie, instead of between therail-bearing surfaces of the ties only, as is now the general practice.This feature permits the depending reinforcement of the splice bar to bedecreased in depth much more gradually from its longitudinal middletoward its ends than is possible in the present practice where thereis'an abrupt decrease in depth occurring adjacent to the edges of theties which lie immediately on each side of the deep reinforcing memberof the splice bar. Such an abrupt change of depth, where the deepsection joins the shallow section, presents a weakness at'the portionsof the bar which are approximately midway between the middle of the bar,longitudinally, and its ends, and this weakness prevents the deepermid-section from being strained to its maximum capacity, even if thesesections of the bar midway between its middle and its ends are strongenough to According to the present practice, the strains which arediverted from the longitudinal mid-section ofthe bar are focused atthese sections midway between its middle and its ends where'the bar hasbeen abruptly changed in depth in order to permit its ends to extend.over and clear the ties. Our improvement permits us to graduate thesection of the bar from its greatest depth at its mid length to a pointwell toward the middle of the tie, or all the way across the tie,according to the requirements of the design of bar used or we depththroughout the entire length of the bar,-as hereinafter explained inwhich case the rolling and finishing of such a bar is cheaperthan thepresent practice of shearing or billldozing girder. bars.

Our invention is equally applicable to insulated joints, and in; suchcases the rail seat may consist entirely of insulating material, or theinsulating .,material may be superin osedupon other material in such amanner as to make a composite rail seat,

carry the reinforcement of uniform.

both elements of which may be necessary in order to provide the properclearance'of that portion of the splice bar which extends below thebottom of the rail base.

The precise nature of our invention will be best understood by referenceto the accompanying drawings, in which we have illustrated a number ofdifferent embodiments, it being premised, however, that these areillustrative only and that the invention is susceptible of various otherembodiments. In these figures, the numeral 2, wherever seen, designatesthe track rails, 55 the splice bars, and 4 the joint bolts.

Referring first to that form of our inven-' tion shown in Figs. 1 and 2,5 designates the rail seat, having a raised portion seating the railbases. The splice bars 3 have each a portion 6, which extends downwardlybelow the bottom faces of the bases of the rails adjacent to thevertical faces 7 of the,

seat 5, and which provides a clearance for the portion 6. The faces 7may be curved or slanted in any manner suitable to provide 1 thisclearance for the portion 6, as the latter is susceptible of variousmodifications.

By reference to Fig.2, the manner in which the rail seat clears theport-ion 6 at any point throughout the length of the splice bar will bereadily seen. It is apparent from these Figs. 1 and 2, that neither therail seat 5 nor the port-ion 6 need be. continuous in .order to embodyour invention, but that either the seat 5 or the portion 6 may beinterrupted or modified at various points throughout the length of thesplice -bars, without departing from the spirit of our invention.

In the modification shown in Fig. 3, the rail seat, instead of having araised portion to seat the rails, consists of a separate piece 5, whichis imposed upon a beam 'or stretcher 8 running longitudinally of therails. The splice bars in this figure are similar to those shown inFigs. 1 and 2.

Fig. & shows a form in which the railseating member clears the deepportions 6 of the splice bars in a manner similar' to that'shown in Fig.1, while at the same time, the seat has ribs or projections 9 beyond theends of the bars to prevent creeping.

Fig. 5 shows, a side elevation of Fig. 4:; while Fig. 6 is a top planview of the railseating member.

In the formof our invention shown in Fig. 7, the rail seat is notsymmetrical, but is formed with a shoulder 10 to engage the outer edgeof the rail base in a-manner combases.

:Fig. 8 is a side elevatign of Fig. 7,"and

'of a recess 13.

I illustrates the extension of the rail seat be lateral flanges 11. Theclearance in the rail seat 5 in this instance is in the form of a recess12, in the edge of the intermediate portion of the rail. seat, and whichis of such depth as to permit comparatively free movement of the splicebar and still maintain asutflciently definite relationship between itand the rail seat to tudinal movement of the splice bar with referenceto the rail seat. "Fig. 11 shows another Wayof maintaining this samerelationship of thesplice'bar to the rail seat. In this'case thisisaccomplished by means in the top of the rail seat. The rail seat islaterally beyond. the foot of the splicebar so as to limit thetransverse as well as the longitudinal movement of the splice bar withreference to, lZhQ'IEIll seat,,this outward extension also afford Fig.12 shows a splice bar of the general form of that shown in Figs. 1 and3, but having its depending foot portion 15 bending inwardly underneaththe base flangeof the rail and into a recess 16 in the rail seat. Thelatter is also extended laterally to provide means for fastening i't'toa tie, as indicated at 17. The recess 16 extends the full length of therail seat, and its upright. backing for the outer edge 18 provides aspikes '17,

Figs. 13,14 and 15 show the application of our invention to an insulatedrail joint. The splice bars 3 are here shown as having an upper portionof an enlarged head an a downwardly and inwardly slanting web. 6designates wooden blocks, which are interposed between the slanting Websof' the splice bars and the webs of the rails. 7 designates woodenblocks of triangular cross-section, which are clamped bythe joint boltsagainst the slanting outer faces of the splice bars so as to be forceddownwardly against the upper surfaces of the intermediate portions ofthe bars. ,This clamping action prevents the bars from creepingoutwardly bat. the bottom, and the webs of the bars being clamped by theblocks on either side along slanting lines, all the parts are caused toact) together positively to afford great stiffness and resiliency, withbroad supporting and resisting faces, resulting in largelyeliminatextension below the rail v base spreads out into. a bottomchord, with.

also hereshown as extended lng means for fasten- 'of the intermediateing it to a tie, as indicated at 14.

(general Z-form, with except that the depending portion 17 ing the wearand destruction of the wooden blocks. The splice bars are formed with,depending foot portions 8 having flanges extending laterally'inboth'a-n inward and an outward direction so as to give the bars amaximum stiffness. The rails are seated on a wooden block 9", which isundercut at opposite sides of the central portion shown at 10 in orderto receive the inwardly projecting flanges of the wardly projectingflanges being at the central portion only of said bars. The block, 9rests upon the ties 5*, its lower seating face being in a lower planethan the bottoms of the bases of the splice bars, so that the block willtake all the weight and thus splice bars, these inthimbles around thejoint bolt-s, where they extend through the Web of the splice bars; and12"* indicates insulating material interposed between the upper surfacesof the base anges of the rails and the bottom surfaces portions of thesplice bars. "The outer triangular blocks 7 are shown as extending thefull length of the splice bars. The nuts 13 for the clamping bolts areshown as seated againstcircular plate washers13 while the heads of thebolts are shown as seating in channel washers 14, which prevent thebolts from turning. Instead of the triangular blocks 7*, any othersuitable means may be provided for affording vertical seating faces forthe nut heads or bolts;

the cutting away of the bot-tom seating member 9 at the central portionsthereof so as to clear the inwardly projecting flanges of the splicebars, these flanges being cutaway the tie became at the ends of the barsto allow the seating member to have a full wide bearing on its ties atits ends.

In the modification shown in Fig. 16, the bar has a vertical memberportion 15?, with a rectangular wooden block 16 seated between it andthe web of the rail, the outer face of this upper portion of the barforming an outer Vertical bolting face. The. foot of the bar is similarin shape to, that shown in Fig. 13, except that the inner flange issomewhat shortened and does not interlock or interflt with the block 9which forms the rail seat. l

The form of our invention shown in Fig. 17 issimilar to the form shownin Fig. 13, oft-he &

splice bar extends vertically downward and is thicker where it isintersected by the plane of the bottom face of the rail base,

vplate 21 forming and instead of interlocking with the rail seat, asshown in Fig. 13, or lying alongside the rail seat, as shown in Fig. 16,it extends downwardly below the bottom face of the rail base and has theunder face of this downwardly extending portion lying close to and atsubstantially the same angle as the inclined upper face of the rail seatwhich lies outside the rail base.

Fig. 18 shows the application of our invention to a splice bar having anupper portion of channel or I-beam form, a block 19 of wood beinginterposed between the bar and the web of the rail. The channeled outerface of the bar has an insulating memher 20 seated therein, with aspring bridge the bearing for the bolt head and nut. The foot portion ofthe splice bar has an outwardly projecting The bar is also shown ashaving a depending vertical flange 25 of uniform section.

1n the modification shown in Fig. 20, there is an outer splicing bar 26,having an upper portion whose inner face slants downwardlyand outwardlyto give a greatly re duced section which merges into an intermediateportion 27 lying above the base flange of, the rail; and a flanged footportion 28 substantially similar to that shown in Fig. 13 andinterfitting with the railseating member in substantially the samemanner as shown'in Figs; 13, 14 and 15. In this form, aninside metal bar29' is employed. This bar contacts directly with one of the rails, andis separated from the outer bar by the insulation 303! This insulationis also showm as separating the intermediate portion 27 of the splicebar from the base flange of the rail. The inner bar 29 is of generalZ-form, with the two broad outer faces 31 and supported by the outerbar. p Fig. 21 shows a splice bar with a straight reinforcing flange 33extending below the bottom of the rail and running along the length ofthe bar uniformly from end to end. The 'rail seat 34, having itsrail-bearing portion of the'same width as the rail base,

raises the, rail high enough above the tie to aiford clearance for thedepending reinforcing flange to extend across the top of the tie.

Fig. 22 shows a similar arrangement to that shown in Fig. 21, exoeptthat the reinforcing flange below the bottom of therail is flattened outas shown at 35, in order to contain more metal.

Fig. 23 shows a bar of the deep girder type, having a depending flange36 extend- I ing downbetween the ties, its end portions over theties-being sheared off below the bottom of the rail, still leaving somereinforce, ment of the bar below the bottom of the rail at the endportions of the bar. The tie plate extends to the outer extremity of thesplice bar, and has an offset at 37 to afford a clearance for the endreinforcement of the bar.

Fig. 24 is similar to Fig. 23, except that thelower reinforcing chord 38is constructed of inner and outer ribs which form a head below thebottoms of the rails.

Fig. 25' is similar to Fig. 21, except that the tie plate, orrail-seating member 39, extends out beyond the splice bar and has itsupper face grooved, the groove 40 at theedge of the rail foot affordingclearance 'for the reinforcing flange 41 of the splice bar.

Fig. 26 shows the splice bar in the form of a girder of very heavysection around the base of the rail, the reinforcement being reducedfrom its full depth at the middle of the bar to a point slightly belowthe bottoms of the rails at its ends; The rail-seating member has aslightly different form of groove 42 to receive the reinforcing flange.

Fig. 27 shows a bar with a horizontally extending reinforcing flange 43lying below the bottom of the rail base and at a suflicient distancefrom its outer edge to permit a rib 44 of the tie plate 45 to engage theouter edge of the rail foot. The splice bar is of uniform sectionthroughout its length, and the tie plate extends to the outer edge ofthe splice bar. Spikes 46 are inserted in slots in the outer edge of thebar and through holes in the tie plate.

Fig. 28 shows a form similar to that shown in Fig. 26, except that thetie plate 47 has a rib 48 to engage the edge of the rail foot; and alsohas a wide extension 49 to bear on the tie and to provide spikingfacilities beyond the edge of the splice bar.

Figs. 29 and 30 are similar to Fig. 24, except that the dependingreinforcements below the bottom of the rail have reiintrant flanges 50extending under the bottom of the rail, the tie plates 51 constitutingthe rail seat and giving the necessary clearances between the bottoms ofthe rails and the tops of the ties.

Fig. 31 is similar to Fig. 26, except that the reinforcement 52 at theend of the splice bar lying over the tie plate rests in the bottom ofthe groove 58 inthe tie plate instead 10 the middle of the rail base.

k the. arrangement shown in Fig "21.

across the plate; while'at' the of standing 'clear of the plate as inFig. 26. The tieplate in Fig, 31 has a wide bearing on the tie at 54beyond the outermost portion of the splice bar.

Fig. 32 shows a splice bar with a rein-.

forcing member 55 extending under the rail base and contacting with thebottom. face thereof. The tie plate 56 affords a clearance for thismember extending well in toward It also gives a nude bearing on the tieextending beyond the splice bar.

. Fig. shows aside ele 'ation of a girder type bar.

duced rather abruptly adjacentto the edges of the ties to a sectionofconsiderably less depth. These end sections are,.how'ever, still 7reinforced sufficiently by the portion lying -below the rail-base. toprevent breaking.

Th-etie plate shown at. the left-hand sideof this figure is of the typeillustrated 1n Fig. .23; while the plate to the right is s milar to 2Fig. 34 shows a splice bar of uniform depth throughout its length with are nforcement below the bottoms of therails.

- The tie plates shown'in this figure are of the form shown in sectionin Figs. and 26.

Fig. 35 shows a splice bar 60, which decreases gradually in depth fromits mid section toward its ends. The tie plates 61 and 6.. are similarrespectively to those shown in section in Figs. 23 and 25, except thatthe bottoms of the clearance grooves in the plates are made slanting toconform to the inclinev of the splice bar reinforcement, in-

.stead 'of horizontally, as is required with a bar of uniform depth.

Fig. 36 shows a girder form of splice bar 63, which varies in depth froma deep mid section td a shallow end section, the section of the parts ofthe bar overlying the tie plates changing from a depth which extendsbelow the bottoms of the rails to a depth lying entirely above thebottoms of the rails. A gradual change of depth with a tie plate havinga horizontal clearance groove is shown at the left-hand side oft-he'figure, .while an abrupt change of depth of a tie plate having asloping or chamfered clearance is shown at the right-hand side of thejoint. i

Fig. 37 shows a rail joint with a tie 64: and tieplate 65 immediatelyunder the meet ing ends of the rails. The tie plateafiords a clearancefor the reinforcing portion 66 of the splice bar below the bottoms ofthe rails and which extends entirely across the tie. The tie plates 67and 68 at the ends of the bar entend beyond such ends. shown ,at theleft-hand sideof the figure, the oleaiance in the plate extends entirelyvend of the b The deep girder portion '57 eX-- 15 tends downwardlybetween the ties and is reopposite side.

of the figure, the clearance is only provided 65 in one-half the tieplate, as shown at ,69, the remaining portion acting as a stop for thear to prevent creeping of the rails;

As above. stated our invention is susce 70' 7 tible of-various otherembodiments with respect to the arrangement of the top and bot- ,tomflanges of the splice bars and of the rail-- seating members, theprincipal features, r when applied to an insulated oint, being theelastic and'broad insulating bearing faces.

which are provided in the upper portion of the structure, with deepdepending. flange portions extending below the bottoms of the rails andlying entirely above. the bottom so faces of the rail seats. Somefeatures of our invention, however, are not necessarily limited td usein connection with these principal features.

e are aware that rail joints have been 5 supported upon two ties,oneunder each rail end, with a separate chair on top of v each tie tocarry the rails; and that the splice bars have been extended. betweenthese rail-bearing chairs adjacent to their mid length to" a point belowthe bottoms of the rail bases but above the plane of the top surface ofthe ties. Our invention is, however, an improvement over this practice,in that we do not weaken the bar by cutting it .away, or by reducing itssection, at the rail seat, to a point above the bottom face of the railbase, but, on the contrary, we give the bar additional. strength at thispoint. The method of interlocking the splice bars with therail-supporting member as shown in several of the figures, is alsobelieved to be a novel feature of our invention.

As above stated, the invention is equally suitable for use in connectionwith insulated rail joints, as it is frequently desired to locate suchjoint without reference to tie spacing. This is particularly the caseonbridges and in the vicinity of frogs and switches. The slantingposition of the bolting webs of the splice bars in the preferredinsulated forms of the invention gives a great increase of lateralstiffness; while the top and bottom portions of the bars in thearrangement shown addsgreatly to.both the lateral and verticalstiffness.

lVe claim P 1 1. In a rail-splicing structure, a rail, a rail seatcomprising a bearing face for. the bottom face of the base of said rail,said rail se t having another face extending downwardly andlongitudinally of the rail with said rail-bearing face, a means forsupporting said rail seat 125 ont-hefroad -b ,and a. splice bar' havinga reinforcing extension lying belowihe plane of the bottom fac pf therail base, said reinforcing extension running lengthwise of thesplicebar along and adjacent to said downwardly extending face of therail seat and directly overlying said means for support-- ing said railseat, said splice bar being free of any means for clamping coaction wlthsaid rail seat, substantially as described.

2. In a railsplicing structure, a rail seat,- a means for supportingsaid rail seat on the road-bed, a pair of abutting rails, splice barsfitting the fishing angles of said rails and having portions extendingdownwardly below the bottom faces of the rail bases ant overlying saidmeans for support-ing said rail seat on the road-bed, said rail seataffording a clearance longitudinally of the rail, adjacent to the outeredge of the rail base, for said downwardly extending portion of thesplice bar, and suitable means for clamping the rails and splice barstightly together, said splice bars and a rail end comprising a structurewhich is supported on said rail seat only on the under face of the footof said rail, said splice bar having greater latitude of vertical andlongitudinal movement than the rail seat, substantially as described.

3. A splice bar and a rail seat, said splice bar having a-portion lyingover said rail seat outside of one of the base flanges of the rail, saidoverlying portion depending freely below the bottom face of the railfoot, without any clamping coaction with said rail seat, and said railseat providing a clearance for said depending portion, substantially asdescribed.

4. In a rail-splicing structure, a splice bar havin a ,portion lyingover a tie and extending below the bottomface ofthe rail foot, and a tieplate providing a clearance from the tie for said portion of the barextending below the bottom face of the rail base, said splicebarbeingfree of any rail.- supporting coaction with said seat.

5. In a rail'splicing structure, a rail, a splice bar, a tie plate and atie, said splice bar having a downwardly extending portion overlying thetie outside of the rail base,

.said tie plate having a rail-bearing face lying in-a'plane'above thelowest extremity of said downwardly extending portionof the splice barand also having a tie-bean ing face lying in a plane below the lowestextremity of said downwardly extending portion of the splice bar, saidsplice bar being free of any means clamping it to said seat.

6. In a rail-splicing structure, a splice bar having a uniform depththrougl'iout its length, said bar having a portion lying over a tieandextending below the bottom face of the rail base, and a tie plate onsaid tie.

affording a seat for the rail and providing a clearance from the tie forsaid'portion of the splice bar extending below the bottom face of therail base, said splice bar being free to move toward the rail to take upwear.

7. In a rail-splicing structure, a splice bar having a .uniform depththroughout its length and having a portion lying below the bottom faceof the rail base, and a rail seat lying between the bottom of the railand the tie, said seat being of substantially less length than thesplice bar and having its bottom face lying below the lowermost portionof said splice bar, said splice bar being free to move upwardly awayfrom said seat.

8. A splice bar having a portion project ing a uniform distance. belowthe bottom face of the rail foot for the entire length of the bar, and arail seat of substantially less length than said bar and having its railbearing face in a plane above the lowermost portion of said bar, saidsplice bar being free of any clampingme ans fastening it directly tosaid rail seat.

9., A splice bar having a portion projecting below the bottom face ofthe rail base and having substantially the same section throughout itslength, and a rail seat having its bottom face below the lowermostportion of said splice bar, said splice bar being free of any clampingbolts fastening it directly to said rail seat. a 10. A splicebar havinga freely depending portion projecting below the bottom face of the railfoot for the entire length of said bar, and a rail seat ofsubstantially'less length than the length of the splice bar, said seathaving its bottom tie bearing face lying below the lowermost extremityof the portion of the bar which extends lengthwise of the bar adjacentto and along said seat.

11. In a rail-splicing structure, a splice bar having a portionextending over a tie and projecting downwardly below the bottomface ofthe rail base, and a rail seat to rest on on tie only, said seatha-vingtits bottom tie bearing face in a plane below the lowermostportion of the part of the splice bar which lies over the tie, saidsp'lice bar being free of any railsupporting coaction with said railseat. i

12. The combination of a tie plate resting on one tie only, a railseated on said tie plate, and a splice bar fastened to the rail andstanding free from the lower portion of the rail web and extendinglongitudinally o" the rail over said tie plate, the portion of saidsplice bar which extends overthe tie plate projecting downwardly belowthe bot- I it ing below the bottom face oflthe rail'foot, said splicebar and tie plate being free ofmeans for engaging them'in clampedrelationship .to each other substantially as described.

14. In a railrsplicing'structu re, a rail, a rail seat having a beatingface for the bot-v tom face of the base of sald railanli another faceextending downwardly from its intersection with said rail bearing face,and a splice bar having'a reinforcing portion extending below the planeof the bottom face of the rail base, said reinforcinig portion lyinglongitudinally of the rail along and adjacent to saiddownwardlyextending face 15 of the railseat and free from any bolts'clampingit to said rail seat, and means for Witnesses MoLnon THOMSON,

MORRIS .L. KoLB.

= Copies of this patent my be obtained for'flve cents each, byaddressing the Commissioner of Patents,

a Washington, D. 0.?

